Hall of Fame

 



bye bye byrd

Year of Birth: 
1955
Immortal: 
Yes
Elected as Immortal: 
1982
Year of Death: 
1980
Gait: 
Pacer
Record: 
p,5,T1:56.1
Earnings: 
$554,272
Sire: 
Poplar Byrd
Dam: 
Evalina Hanover
Sire of Dam: 
Billy Direct
Biography: 

Hailed as one of the leading performers of his time, Bye Bye Byrd held twelve world pacing records during his racing career. Bred by the Larkins of Poplar Hill Farm, he was by Poplar Byrd out of Evalina Hanover. He was named Horse of the Year in 1959 and retired from the track to the stud barn in 1961 with more than a half-million dollars in earnings. He became a top sire, with well over one hundred 2:00 horses to his credit. Bye Bye Byrd was the first Horse of the Year to sire another Horse of the Year - Keystone Ore (1976). One of his daughters, Niagara Dream, produced the champion Niatross. Bye Bye Bird died in 1980 at age twenty-five.

Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals